Celebrate Failure

It’s worth celebrating when it happens.

Fear of failure is the number one killer of large goals and good ideas, killing them faster than a lack of knowledge or experience or a lack of a clear strategy or action plan. Individuals' biggest impediment to success is paralysis created by the dread of failing. Most of us are taught from a young age that failing is bad, even disgraceful. We learn to conceal our failings, to find explanations for them, or to disregard them.

Worse, we begin to avoid taking chances.

We become more cautious to prevent even the prospect of failure. We begin to limit our options to only those behaviours that have a high likelihood of success. As a result, our options become more limited, and our playing field shrinks. One of the most important ways to learn is via failure. Failing at any activity or task, including failing to act, is a valuable learning experience.

This is the potential for learning that I celebrate and explore with my coaching clients. Action will lead to learning, but individuals may need to pass through the country of failure along the road. There is a distinction to be made between failing at something and being a failure. People are inherently creative, resourceful, and complete. They are not failures, even if they occasionally fail. Whether a person succeeds or fails, one of the fundamental aims is to examine the learning that occurs from the experience. That is why I believe failure is valuable. Individuals should be honoured for having the bravery and dedication to take the risk and fail. I hold failure in high regard since so few individuals are ready to put themselves in that situation.

When it happens, it's worth celebrating.